Broken Branches

Shorts

Shorts

An animated documentary about loss, family and hope. Michal Rechter was only 14 years old when, on the eve of the Second World War, she left her family in Poland and traveled to Israel. Now, at the age of 92, she tells her story to her granddaughter, the film’s director, who brings her grandmother’s memories to life in colorful animation.

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Broken Branches is an animated documentary about loss, family and hope. Michal Rechter was only 14 years old when, on the eve of the Second World War, she left her family in Poland and traveled to Israel. Now, at the age of 92, she tells her story to her granddaughter, the film’s director, who brings her grandmother’s memories to life in colorful animation.

Michal shows us essays she wrote as a schoolgirl in Poland. One essay describes "The Land of Israel" as a beautiful and magical place while another describes the life in her Polish village and the rise of Hitler.

Eager for the family to start a new life, Michal’s parents sent her together with a Jewish youth group to live in a boarding school in Israel. Her parents were supposed to join her the following year but after the War broke out everything changed.

When Michal arrived at the boarding school she realized that her life would not remain the same. Together with her classmates, she had to lose her former Diaspora identity and become a “Sabra”, a true Israeli.

As World War II progressed it became harder for Michal and her classmates to keep in touch with their families who were still in Europe. The letters she received from her father and sister, describing the despair of the family left behind, reveal dark undertones. However, Michal's optimistic nature remained strong even during the War years. The vibrant social life of the boarding school distracted her from her worries regarding her family and the realization of their probable fate.

Michal tells her story as she remembers it, through the eyes of an innocent child, with no pain or regret. She shows us pictures and letters from her childhood, and gives us a glimpse of how she viewed the world as a young girl. Her youthful energy shines through the film. Filled with hopes and dreams, Michal left her family behind but, despite the circumstances, retained her innocence and joyfulness and managed to build a home of her own in her adopted country.

AWARDS, FESTIVALS & SCREENINGS"Mimosa d'Or" 2016 for Best Short Film - Nice JIFFWINNER of the Athens Jewish Film Festival Shorts Competition for 2016.

• 30th Haifa International Film Festival - BEST SHORT• Athens Film and Video International Festival, Ohio - BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY• 54th Krakow International Film Festival - OFFICIAL SELECTION• Dok Leipzig 2014 - NOMINATED FOR A GOLDEN DOVE• Ofir Awards (Israeli Oscars) - Nominated for Best Short Documentary• Cinema Saint Louis International Film Festival 2014 - OFFICIAL SELECTION• Savannah Film Festival 2014 - OFFICIAL SELECTION